Cheek Marks
by Tripptych
Summary: Naruto didn't know what they were, all he knew was that they were permanently there and people hated them. Naruto hated them. Minor NaruSasu, fluffy, childhood.


**Cheek Marks**

By Tripptych / a m b a, y e a h ?

Disclaimer: I don't own _shit._

_**Additional information:**_ This is based around the time of Naruto's academy days, they unnamed random characters I have thrown in have no real relation to anybody else in the series I just needed assholes for plot convenience.

…

"What's wrong with your face?" Naruto blinked in irritation and indignation, his baby fat cheeks puffing out and blonde eyebrows scrunching into a frown.

"Oi, I said what's wrong with your face loser!" A boy with motley brown hair and an undercut jabbed Naruto squarely between the shoulder blades.

Resisting the urge to reach behind and rub the now aching spot viciously, Naruto glared ruefully at the pine desk in front of him, smouldering the wood with his eyes that were filled with intensity and slight hurt.

Why did they care? It was none of their business why he had marks stretching across his cheeks, hell he didn't even know what or where they'd come from. They weren't rough or raised like his other scars and they certainly didn't come off, maybe they were like a birthmark? A strange birthmark that looked nothing like the other birthmarks he had seen on a boy named Kiba and the small heart shaped one on Sakura's belly he had caught a glimpse at during the school field trip to the lake.

Naruto didn't know what they were, all he knew was that they were permanently there and people hated them.

Naruto hated them.

"Oi Uzumaki he asked you a question!" The motley brown boy's friend, a taller and skinnier boy with orangey coloured hair shoved Naruto's small shoulder.

Bracing himself with his hands, Naruto avoided flying face first into the smooth desk top. Frustration and contempt brewed in his small chest as he lowered his head, shielding his marked face from the people who had no started to look on with curiosity.

"You know Keki, I think he is ignoring us." The undercut one spoke to the other, Naruto resisted the urge to role his baby blues at the obviousness of the statement.

"I don't like being ignored." The other spoke but Naruto hardly cared about them anymore, other children in ear shot had begun to chatter about his marks.

Why were people always so cruel? Naruto's chest began to ache at the words filling his ears.

"Do you think their fake and he draws them on?" One girl with puffy black hair asked the blonde beside her who cynically looked at him as if he was a smudge rather than a human.

"No way, have you seen him write his name? There is no way he could draw them that straight." Naruto blushed furiously, so what if his writing wasn't super neat or even readable to them.

He knew what he was writing!

"Does he realise how stupid he looks with them?" Another girl had joined their 'whispered' conversation, her disapproving green eyes looking over her friends shoulder at his face.

"I wonder if you spat and rubbed they would come off." They giggled rudely between each other, covering their little mouths with laughter that ached in Naruto's chest.

"I heard that he was born with them." Another boy whispered to Naruto's left, the small blonde filled with pain as people continued to gossip about him.

"I heard that he had done them himself with a rusty kunai." Muttered another, Naruto winced sharply blinking back the tears of humiliation and speculation brought down on him.

"I heard that his own mother had done it to him." Naruto's eyes widened sharply, pooling tears dripped down his for mentioned cheeks and his head snapped up.

The gossip around him had gone on long enough.

Slamming his hands palm down on the desk with a sharp sting, Naruto stood and turned on the class scaring the day lights out of the sensei at the front of the room and gathering a collective shocked gasp from his 'fellow' peers.

"They don't come off!" He spat angrily, at the boys behind him whose mouths dropped in jolt. They definitely hadn't being expecting him to reply like that.

Whirling on the rest of the class he began to yell.

"They have always been there and I can't help if they look horrible or don't 'suit me!" He spat in mocking, his eyes dribbling tears at the shocked faces around him.

The humiliation and spectacle he was making out of himself was enough to rip a sob from his stomach.

"I don't have a family let alone an actual kunai! I hate them just as much the rest of you!" Naruto screamed hysterically, whirling in every direction.

Whoever hadn't been involved or heard the conversation about his scars had now and that only served to humiliate the already distraught blonde. Scrubbing his burning red face, Naruto bolted from the room.

Murmurs of shock and awe erupted in the classroom, questions and surprise rattled through the room as people began to question the classroom idiot's dramatic display.

"What a loser!" Ino muttered flicking her longing platinum hair over her shoulder as she surveyed the rest of the room in keen interest.

People gossiped and chattered nosily amongst themselves, they eyes big and shiny with cruel excitement.

"That was unbelievable what got into that dunce?" Sakura raged glaring heatedly at where the blonde had left, he was always doing stupid attention grabbing things.

"I dunno forehead, maybe you should follow him since you're his girlfriend and everything!" The blonde girl taunted, looking past the love of her life to poke a tongue at the pink haired girl on her crushes other side.

Sakura flushed angrily, sure she knew the blonde had a crush on her but the mere thought of even being near him repulsed her. He was skinny and lanky, to tan and definitely too blonde and nothing like the love of her life.

"Shut up Ino-pig!" She shot back angrily over the dark haired boy between them, pushing forward till she was leaning in front of him to throw insults at her best friend.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance as he looked between the girls at his sides; they were giving him a headache.

"Sakura." He spoke, his voice cool and calm as he regarded the pink haired menace.

Stopping the bickering immediately and staring wide eyed at her crush, Sakura stuttered out a meek 'Yes Sasuke-kun?' surprised that he even spoke at all today, let alone her name. Ino looked jealous and furious at the girl for stealing _her _crushes attention.

"Could I borrow you black marker?"

**-oOo-**

Naruto's sandal clad feet hit the compact dirt hard as he bolted from the doors and out to his favourite swing. Tears stung his eyes and made his nose drip as he sniffed hard, unable to quell the furious crying and swallow the humiliation and hurt, he cried harder.

Flopping blindly on to his swing, Naruto mulled over his pathetic act in there. How would they ever respect him now? They all thought he was a baby. Crying and yelling because some people where picking on him, it happened frequent enough that it shouldn't make him react like he had done.

Choking on a dying sob Naruto failed to notice the body walking towards him.

"You know you look really stupid right dobe?" Sasuke's flat voice drawled from his right, his arms crossing his chest as he leant against the tree trunk.

In no mood to deal with the cooler boys taunts Naruto balled in on himself and told the boy quite rudely to 'piss off'

"Tch, don't be so rude baka." Angry at the mere teasing voice beside him, Naruto's tear strained eyes shot up in a scowl, mouth poised to deliver a vicious mouthful of swear words.

The words died in his throat, all but a strangled noise escaping his vocal chords as he looked at his most hated rival with so many emotions running through him.

Sasuke Uchiha, resting against the tree trunk with that forever cool smirk on his face was looking at him with narrowed eyes that held no malice of mocking but that wasn't worth the stare factor, there on his face were six identical to his own marks on his pale cheeks.

Naruto was shocked, his eyes big with surprise and still unshed tears.

"Sasuke you-"He mumbled looking at the boy in complete shock, making Sasuke shifted jerkily from where he stood.

"Don't mention it." Sasuke muttered, his marked cheeks flushing as he turned his face away, losing his cool composure.

Gratefulness and adoration for the stoic boy filled Naruto.

Sasuke felt awkward, he almost felt stupid and moved to rub at the marked stained cheeks but a restriction around his torso stopped him. Blinking in surprise Sasuke looked down at the shock of banana blonde hair under his chin, tan arms encircling his chest and a face pressed into the hollow of his collar bone and shoulder.

"Thank you Sasuke" was all the boy said as he tightened his arms around Sasuke.

Softening the awkward stance he had, Sasuke allowed a small smile to creep over his lips.

"You're welcome dobe."

…

**AWWWH SHUCKS MAN, I was feeling fluffy and now I've sated that I can go back to my horny side and continue on.**

**Give love to my new beta' Andibreathnomore**

**REVIEWS ME LOVES!**


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